Jon Rahm did not have fun during the opening round of the PGA Championship as he shot a 6 over par. Players love making history, but not the type that Rahm made on Thursday. He set a new record for the worst opening-round score to par by a World No. 1, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Tiger Woods and Greg Norman held that record before at +5, but the Masters champion had a tough day at Oak Hill. The course had him in a chokehold, and no matter what he did, the Spaniard struggled to get into a rhythm.
Jon Rahm just posted the worst opening round score to par (+6) by a World No. 1 at the #PGAChampionship.
That distinction was previously shared by Greg Norman in 1990 and Tiger Woods in 2005 (+5). pic.twitter.com/IwVVMKTRG4
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 18, 2023
He started his day on the back nine. At first, it looked like Rahm was on his way to posting another strong score. He made birdie on No. 10 and then par on 11 through 15. Then the carnage began. He bogeyed 16 and 17 to go out in 37. That score wasn’t terrible, and it was something he could come back from; however, the bleeding didn’t stop there.
Rahm bogeyed the second and third holes and made par on four and five to sit at +4. Some thought the struggles might end there, but Oak Hill said not so fast, my friends — Rahm went on to bogey the par-4 6th and double bogey the par-4 7th.
At +7, he had to find some hope, and thankfully Rahm did by making a birdie on the 8th before closing out his round with a par on No. 9. Rahm signed for a 76 on the day, and that kind of golf was something fans haven’t seen out of him in a while.
He and Scottie Scheffler have gone back and forth throughout the last few months, exchanging wins and top 10 finishes. No one expected him to shoot a 76 on Thursday at Oak Hill, but he did — at least he made history, in a way.